The 24-week MegaBUMP

At this rate, I'm getting a little concerned that he's going to be like his Uncle Matthew (i.e., 11 pounds...eep!)

Other stuff on my mind:

• Cloth diapers: We're going with them for a variety of environmental and health reasons. I had no idea how many kinds were out there! I'm thinking about Green Acres Designs...if anyone out there has cloth diapering experience, please share your favorites!
• Holycrapwe'removingin4weeks!: Packing has finally commenced and will hopefully continue at a suitably brisk yet manageable pace. Though we're packing ourselves, thanks be to God, the church is paying for movers. Starting to pay Savannah rent the first of the month and continuing to pay Nashville rent through the end of July, however, sucks.
• Work: I've still got four more weeks, right up until the day before the movers load our stuff (not ideal scheduling, but so be it). My job has been an amazing experience, and I'm going to deeply miss a lot of things about it, but I'm looking forward to the "new" job. As my mom says, the pay isn't good, but the benefits are outstanding.
• Baby names: This has been the major topic of conversation around here lately. We thought we had one just about picked up, but the first name turns out to be really high on the recent popularity rankings. We have a couple more promising options...will keep you posted when something is definite.
• Childbirth options: I find using a midwife and a birthing center appealing. I need to try to get some dirt on the birthing center in (well, just outside) Savannah before I make a choice. Another thing I'm trying to discern about is drugs (and what kind) versus natural...no epidurals at said birthing center, so the two decisions kind of go together.
  

I'm hopeful that once we get moved & I'm an official housewife/SAHM-in-training, I'll blog more regularly. In the meantime, here's where I'll do said blogging from starting June 18:


It's on the highest end of the price range we were shooting for, but I think we're going to really dig it. It's 5 minutes outside the historic district in a quiet, modest but tidy little neighborhood. Best of all, it's a house. There will be multiple walls, fences, and yard between us and other people. You have no idea how happy this makes us. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, an office, decently big living & dining rooms, the biggest kitchen (with the greenest countertops) I've ever had, an attic, and a big screen porch. Plus, we get this view in our backyard:


That's the marsh - we're maybe a quarter mile from the intercoastal waterway. This also happens to be the west, so we get sunsets from our back porch. Fabulous. Y'all come visit.

Unrelated, lately I feel like a stomach with a mouth and feet (how Tori-ish). My baby bump and accompanying appetite are growing quite exponentially.

I got back from the TESOL convention in New York last night. Aside from losing my backpack on the subway, it was a fabulous if exhausting time. And look who I got to catch up with after nearly 5 freaking years!


In other news - pretty big news, actually - it's about 95% certain that we're moving not to Albany, but to Savannah. This was a big surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Aside from the lesser proximity to family, I think it's about as good a place as we could ask to move in south GA. Next stop...finding a place to live.

OK, here's the plan.

June:
-We move to south GA (maybe Albany?) after four years in Nashville.
-Alex transitions from being a full time student (which he's been basically forever) to a full time associate pastor.
-I transition from being a full time ESL teacher (almost four years is a definite job longevity record for me) to being a housewife/SAHM-in-training.

August:
-I turn 30. wtf?
-Our marriage hits the five year mark. Are we supposed to get the tires rotated?

September:
-The baby transitions from being an abstract concept that makes me tired and gassy to a genuine, out-of-the-womb, in-our-face baby. (Granted, I'm sure it'll become less of an abstract concept when I have a huge belly and it kicks, but I'm going with what it feels like at this moment [12 weeks].)

Yeah, we just thought we'd get all the life changes out of the way at once.